Methodology for Measuring Progress and Disparities in Healthy People 2010

• Activity Number: 526
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 1, 2012 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistics in Epidemiology
• Author(s): Leda Gurley*+
• Companies: National Center for Health Statistics
• Keywords: health disparities ; healthy people ; HP2010 ; progress ; targets

Abstract

For three decades, Healthy People has provided a comprehensive set of national 10-year health promotion and disease prevention objectives aimed at improving the health of all Americans. Healthy People 2010 (HP2010) continued in this tradition by identifying 28 public health priorities and 969 objectives designed to improve the health of all people by the year 2010. An evaluation of the methodologies used to assess progress toward the HP2010 target for each objective and toward eliminating racial and ethnic disparities among all population-based objectives was conducted. Progress was measured using the percentage of targeted change that was achieved. Disparities were defined as the percent difference between the racial/ethnic (r/e) group with the "best" or most favorable rate and the rates for each of the other r/e groups. Results show that 71% of the objectives with tracking data moved towards their targets (23% of these have met their targets), 24% of the objectives moved away from their targets, 5% showed no change, substantial health disparities between populations were observed for many objectives and there was no change in disparity over time for most objectives.